


Pokemorphs: The Swords of Zacian

by LinkedWolf



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:26:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23270143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinkedWolf/pseuds/LinkedWolf
Summary: I have been given the honor of posting a story that will kickstart an entire universe of stories that will follow it. This has taken me months to plan, write, rewrite, and perfect. So, without further adieu, I present the first chapter of the first story of the Pokemorphs universe.
Kudos: 2





	Pokemorphs: The Swords of Zacian

**Author's Note:**

> I have been given the honor of posting a story that will kickstart an entire universe of stories that will follow it. This has taken me months to plan, write, rewrite, and perfect. So, without further adieu, I present the first chapter of the first story of the Pokemorphs universe.

_What’s happening to me?_

I stared at my reflection in the school bathroom. Something was wrong with what I saw. Something _very_ wrong. 

My normally chocolate brown hair was slowly changing to a creamy yellow color right before my very eyes. I ran my fingers through my hair, hoping that this was just a prank and someone had put hair dye in my hair when I wasn’t paying attention. To my horror, not only was this not hair dye, but the texture of my hair now felt much, _much_ different. It was softer, smoother, and felt nothing like hair. 

_It felt like fur…_

~ ~ ~

The day had started like any other school day. I reluctantly got up to my alarm, knowing full well that Grandpa would have my head if I was late to school again. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and a pair of socks, quickly putting them on before leaving my room and walking downstairs.

As I walked downstairs, the scent of bacon wafted towards me from the kitchen. A smile crossed my face as I ran downstairs and immediately turned right when I reached the bottom. Just as I expected, Grandma was putting bacon on a plate with scrambled eggs. I walked into the kitchen just as she turned around to set the plate on the table, and she smiled when she saw me. 

“Morning Tad,” she said in her usual soothing voice. “How did you sleep last night?”

“I slept fine, thanks for asking,” I responded as I pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. “What’s all this for? You’re never usually up before seven o’clock.”

“Well, I figured that I would get up and make you breakfast this morning,” Grandma said, putting the plate and some silverware down in front of me. “You need the proper energy if you’re going to get through the day.”

“Thanks Grandma,” I said. I proceeded to pick up my fork and take a bite of the eggs, savoring the taste. 

“You’re very welcome sweetheart,” she responded, pulling out a chair to sit down at the table with me. I continued to eat my breakfast, quickly devouring the eggs before moving on to the bacon. I only stopped when I heard Grandma laugh softly. I swallowed what was in my mouth and asked “What’s so funny?”

Grandma simply shook her head and smiled. “Oh, it’s nothing,” she said. “It’s just that you remind me so much of your parents. You’re practically the spitting image of your father when he was your age.” She was quiet for a second before saying “I can’t believe you’re already 16 years old...your parents would be so proud of you…”

I could hear Grandma’s voice waver slightly as she said that. It had been nearly 13 years since my parents were killed in a horrific car crash. Ever since then, I’d been living with my grandparents. I proceeded to reach over and put a hand on my grandmother’s shoulder. 

“They’re in a better place now Grandma,” I reassured. Grandma smiled, nodding her head in agreement. 

“Yes...you’re right dear,” she said. “And they’re watching over you with the biggest smiles on their faces.”

“Thanks Grandma,” I said with a smile. Just then, I heard a loud horn just outside. Looking through the kitchen window, my eyes widened when I saw the school bus parked outside. 

“Oh crap, it’s 6:30 already?!” I almost shouted. “Sorry Grandma, I gotta go!” I got up from my chair, grabbed my backpack, and slipped on my shoes before running back into the kitchen and giving Grandma a hug before running out the front door.

“Love you Grandma! See you this afternoon!”

“Bye sweetheart! Have a good day!”

I closed the front door behind me and ran out to the bus, slowing down when I drew closer. The doors opened, and I climbed on board and took a seat. 

~ ~ ~

When the bus arrived at school, I got off and walked inside. Like usual, the halls were full of students who were loitering around and talking to their friends. As I rounded a corner, I saw a guy and a girl holding hands a bit further down the hall. For some reason, I felt jealous.

 _”Damn, why does everyone around here have a significant other?”_ I thought. _”What does every other guy in this school have that I don’t? Why can’t I find someone who loves me?”_

I sighed and began to walk down the hallway faster, now in a bit of a hurry to get to class. The sooner I could get to class, the sooner I could focus on something other than my joke of a love life. When I got to class, I quickly walked inside and set my stuff down at my desk. I already couldn’t wait for this day to be over…

When the bell finally rang, the teacher, Mr. Smith, didn’t waste any time. Like usual, he quickly turned the lights off and turned on the projector to display a PowerPoint presentation. 

“Good morning class,” Mr. Smith said. “Today’s lecture will focus on the Industrial Revolution in Europe. I would advise everyone to open their binders to a blank sheet of paper and prepare to take notes. This will be on the unit test two weeks from now.” The entire class proceeded to do what they were told. As Mr. Smith moved to the next slide in the presentation and began speaking, everyone, myself included, began to furiously jot down what was on the slide. 

It was about fifteen minutes into class when I heard someone on my left whisper my name. I looked up from my paper to see who was trying to get my attention. Sitting at the desk next to me was my classmate, Sam. The two of us were more acquaintances than friends, so we never really talked to each other unless we were put in a group together or if Sam wanted to borrow a pencil.

“Were you whispering to me Sam?” I asked. 

“Yeah, I was,” he responded. “Just wanted to say that I like what you did with your hair. It looks good.” 

I was incredibly confused by what he said. I hadn’t done anything with my hair recently, and I hadn’t gotten a haircut in several weeks. 

“What do you mean?” I asked. 

“You’ve got a streak of blonde in your hair,” Sam said. “When did you do that?” 

Confused, I grabbed some of my bangs and pulled them down a bit so I could see them better.

“You’re mistaken,” I whispered back to him. “My hair isn’t…” I trailed off when I looked at my bangs. My eyes widened in shock when I realized that Sam wasn’t lying. Part of my hair was actually blonde! I immediately knew that something was wrong. I quickly raised my hand to get Mr. Smith’s attention. It was about a minute or two until he finally noticed me. 

“Yes Tad?” he asked. 

“Mr. Smith, I don’t feel so good…” I lied, adding in a cough. 

“Oh, that’s not good,” he said, moving over to his desk. He reached over and opened a drawer, pulling out an empty hall pass. “I’ll write you a pass to go to the nurse, okay?”

“That’s fine,” I said, packing up my things while he filled out my pass. Once I had everything, I threw my backpack over my right shoulder and walked to the front of the classroom, taking the pass from Mr. Smith. 

“Hope you feel better soon,” he said. I nodded my head and began to walk to the door. As I opened the door to the classroom and began to walk into the hall, I heard Mr. Smith call out “I like what you did with your hair, by the way!” 

As soon as the door closed, I ran for the closest bathroom. Lucky for me, it was just down the hall on the right side, so I didn’t have to go far. As soon as I got in, I stopped at the closest mirror to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me. Something was wrong with what I saw. Something _very_ wrong. 

My normally chocolate brown hair was slowly changing to a creamy yellow color right before my very eyes. I ran my fingers through my hair, hoping that this was just a prank and someone had put hair dye in my hair when I wasn’t paying attention. To my horror, not only was this not hair dye, but the texture of my hair now felt much, _much_ different. It was softer, smoother, and felt nothing like hair. 

_It felt like fur…_

“Wh-What the hell?!” I stuttered. “Th-This can’t be happening! There...There’s no way this is happening!” 

I couldn’t stay in school. Something was happening to me, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be there if something else began to happen. Moving away from the mirror, I ran out of the bathroom and practically sprinted down the halls. I needed to get home, and I didn’t have time to wait for Grandma or Grandpa to come and pick me up. As soon as I got to the front of the school, I ran out the front doors and kept running down the sidewalk. I was about three blocks away from the school when my wrists began to feel incredibly itchy. Not stopping, I began to itch my right wrist, only to stop when I realized why they were itchy. 

Growing around my wrists were patches of red hair...no, _red fur._ I stared at my wrists in utter disbelief, still running as fast as I could. I wasn’t paying attention where I was going, so I didn’t see the two nicely dressed men on the sidewalk in front of me until it was too late. I ran into the one on the right, causing me to stagger backwards a little. Surprisingly, he didn’t move when I ran into him. In fact, I didn’t even see him flinch. He simply turned around and looked at me. Because of the sunglasses he was wearing, I couldn’t exactly tell if he was angry, surprised, or both. 

“I’m sorry!” I apologized. “I wasn’t looking where I was going!” As I moved around the two men, I got ready to start running again until I felt something, or rather, _someone_ grab my backpack. 

“Hold on a sec kid,” the man on the left said. “Where exactly are you going?”

“H-Home…” I stuttered, trying to pull away. The man didn’t loosen his grip. The man I had ran into a few seconds ago began to look over me, his gaze stopping at my wrists. He gestured at them with his head to his colleague, who focused his gaze on my hair. The two men looked at each other for a second before looking back at me. 

“You need to come with us,” the man I had run into said. 

“Wh-What?!” I exclaimed. 

“It is in your best interest that you come with us,” the man on the left said. “If you don’t cooperate, we’ll have to use force.”

“No! Let go of me!” I tried to pull myself away from the men, but I wasn’t budging. Seeing as how I wasn’t cooperating, the man on the left grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and began to drag me by the heels in the direction of the school. It was only then that I noticed the white van parked on the side of the road.

“LET GO OF ME!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!” 

The man I had run into walked over to the back of the van and opened the rear doors. As I was dragged closer to the van, I found myself panicking even more than I was before. I began to frantically beat the man with my fists, but my puny punches seemed to do nothing. As I was dragged around to the back of the van, I grabbed onto one of the door handles and held on for dear life. 

“Let go kid!” the second man growled. “Charlie, a little help here?” 

The man who I ran into, who I presumed was Charlie, began trying to pry my fingers off the handle. Using my right leg, I kicked the man in the shin as hard as I could. That seemed to do something, as he let out a “GAH!” and recoiled back a bit. 

“You little shit!” he cursed. “Why can’t you just cooperate?! If you don’t get in the fucking van, then-”

The man was cut off by a loud “THUD” from the top of the van. The two men quickly jerked their heads towards the source of the sound. 

“Shit, we’ve got company,” the second man said. He then looked inside the back of the truck and shouted, “You three! Get your asses out here!” before three heavily armed men came out of the van. They quickly pointed their guns up towards the roof of the car and began to open fire on whoever was up there. Suddenly, a large figure flew overhead before landing on the ground a few feet away. I quickly turned my head to see a large bipedal creature. It had white fur on its stomach and fringing its face like a beard. On top of its head was what appeared to be a beige-colored helmet of some kind. It had a domed, beige-colored shell on its back with four large spines jutting out of it, with an additional spine protruding from the armor over each of the creature’s shoulders. Its arms and legs had three brown, claw-like digits. Its body was colored similarly to the shell, and its long limbs and tail were banded with what looked like plates of armor. The top surfaces of the tail and arms were protected by green armor, and each arm had two small spines. As the gunners turned and opened fire at the creature, it slammed its fists together, creating a large, green, spike-covered shield that reflected the bullets. One of the reflected bullets bounced off the creature’s shield and was sent right back at one of the gunners, going straight through his head. I watched in horror as his body went limp and he fell to the ground, blood pooling around him. 

“Shit! They got Barry!” one of the gunners yelled. 

Just then, another figure jumped out from the trees, and landed next to one of the gunners. Another creature, this one more canine in appearance. It had red fur covering most of its body, with white fur on its lower legs and a white streak that covered its face, chest, stomach, and tail. It had pointed ears with black tips, three large tufts of red fur on both sides of its face, a triangular black nose, and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Its left eye was a glowing pinkish-red color, while its right eye was covered by an eyepatch. A mane of white fur covered its back and shoulders, sweeping over its head to form a crescent moon shape. Interestingly, the creature also wore a blue cloak with gold-colored cuffs, epaulettes, and buttons. A red velvet cloth with gold accents was tied around its waist on the inside of the cloak, and a brown strap with a golden buckle went across its chest. It wore fingerless gloves on its clawed, three-digit hands, and held what looked like a cutlass in its right hand. 

Quick as a serpent, the canine sliced the gunner closest to him, somehow cutting right through his armor. The other gunner turned and fired at the wolf-like creature, but the canine simply smirked and held up its cutlass, deflecting the bullet back at the gunner. The man who had been holding me shoved me to the ground and charged at the canine, hoping to knock it over. At the last second, the creature jumped out of the way and circled behind its attacker. Before the man could even realize what was happening, the canine ran its blade through the man’s chest. 

When the man fell to the ground, the canine pulled the blade from his chest and put it away. Neither creature seemed to notice me on the ground, staring at them as they walked towards the front of the van. Although my captor had let go of me, I found myself unable to run away from the scene. I was frozen in a mixture of terror and awe, trying to comprehend what I had witnessed. What were these creatures? They looked like nothing I had ever seen before in my life! Maybe I should go up and try to talk to them? If one of them was wearing clothes and was able to use a weapon, surely they’re capable of speech. As I got off the ground and prepared to try and talk to them, I felt a large pair of hands grab my shoulders and slam me into the side of the van before pushing me down to the ground. When I looked up, I saw the man that I ran into towering over me, an angry expression plastered across his face.

“You dumb fucking kid!” the man growled, trying not to be loud so the creatures wouldn’t notice him. “Because of you, my team has been slaughtered! None of this would have happened if you had just cooperated with us and gotten in the fucking van!” 

Not taking his eyes off me, the man pulled back his suit jacket and revealed a concealed pistol holster. My eyes widened in horror as the man pulled his gun from the holster and pointed it at my forehead. 

“N-No! P-P-Please! D-Don’t kill m-me!” I stammered. I looked around frantically for a way to escape, but the man had me completely cornered. There was no way I could get away from him.

“I’ve had enough of your shit,” the man growled. “I’ll just tell the boss you died in the ambush.”

As the man cocked his gun, I turned my head away and clenched my eyes shut, waiting for the end. 

Suddenly, the man let out a cry of pain, which was followed by a “THUMP” a few seconds later. I opened my eyes to see the man laying face down on the asphalt, bleeding from his neck. I slowly turned my head to look at his killer. 

Standing in front of me was another one of those creatures from earlier. Like the second creature, this one was canine in appearance. It had orange fur over most of its body, with a white furred underbelly that extended up its muzzle and around its eyes. On top of its head was a pair of pointed ears with brown tips. Large tufts of orange fur extended from the sides of its head; three tufts on each side. It had a bushy, white mane that covered his neck, sweeping over its head slightly, but not as much as the other canine’s mane did. It had digitigrade legs, the lower halves of which were covered in white fur; the same applied to its arms. Behind him was a large, bushy white tail that slowly moved from side to side. Like the other wolf creature, this one was wearing clothing. It wore a white cloak and hood with a dark brown leather vest overtop. The cloak had a medium length coattail that mostly rested on top of the creature’s tail, while the ends on the front went down its legs and ended a little below its knees. Two leather arm guards on each arm were strapped on the creature’s upper arms and forearms. Two leather straps around its shoulders went across its upper body, while another one went around its waist, holding two daggers in leather sheaths on both sides of its hips. The entire getup reminded me of an outfit that the main character in an _Assassin’s Creed_ game would wear. 

“Hey...you okay?” the creature said, confirming its gender as male. “Here, let me help you up.” He held out his furry, clawed right hand. I looked at the creature’s hand for a second before hesitantly extending my right hand. As the creature pulled me up, I felt a slight pain in my shoulder, causing me to wince and clutch my shoulder with my left hand. 

“Are you hurt?” the canine asked. 

“No...I’m fine…” I said. “I’ll walk it off.” 

“Alright,” the canine said. “What’s your name?”

“Tad…” I said. “My name is Tad.”

The canine smiled at me. “Nice to meet you Tad,” he said. “I’m Logan.”

Just then, a gruff, male voice called out from the other side of the van. “Hey Logan, we got what we need! Let’s get out of here!”

“You guys go on ahead!” Logan shouted back. “I’ll catch up!” 

“Suit yourself then!” another voice, also male, responded. “Be sure to grab some more stuff before you leave!”

“Yeah yeah, I got it,” Logan said before he turned his attention back to me. “So what exactly happened here?” 

“I...I don’t know,” I admitted. “I accidentally ran into that man you killed a few minutes ago because I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I apologized and started to run off again, but his friend stopped me and told me that I needed to go with them. When I refused, one of them grabbed me and started dragging me to their van. If you and your friends hadn’t attacked when you did, then I don’t know what would’ve happened to me.”

“What had you distracted while you were running?” Logan asked. I hesitated for a moment before holding up my arms. The red fur around my wrists had grown in abundance, moving up my forearms a little before stopping a little past my wrists. From there, grayish-black fur was beginning to grow on my arms and hands.

“It’s gotten worse…” I said. “What’s happening to me…?”

Logan looked me over, much like the two men before did. After a minute or two, he said “Okay Tad, I know that after what just happened, this is not going to be easy for you, but I need you to come with me.”

“Wh-What?!” 

“Look, we don’t have much time,” Logan said. “We’ve been out in the open for far too long, and the fact that we haven’t been spotted by anyone by now is sheer luck. I know somewhere we can go that’s safe.” 

“Why should I trust you?” I asked. “What makes you any different from the people who just tried to kidnap me?”

“The difference is that I’m giving you a choice. You can come with me to safety and learn what’s happening to you, or you can leave and act like this never happened. But I’m warning you, if you choose the latter option, it’s only a matter of time before more of those people come for you. It’s your choice.”

I turned my head and looked down the street in the direction of my home. I could just keep running. I could go home right now and hope that Grandma and Grandpa could help me. But what if more of those men come? How will I get away then? What if Grandma and Grandpa got hurt, or worse? With a sigh, I turned back to Logan and nodded. 

The canine nodded back. “You made the right choice,” he said. “Now come on.”

Logan darted across the street and into the woods. Before I ran after him, I took one last look down the street before quickly running into the woods to meet him. 

~ ~ ~

“Logan...I...I gotta….stop…”

I was bent over and breathing heavily with my hands on my knees. I was completely out of breath after running so fast for so long. Running had never been one of my strong points. It wasn’t that I was out of shape; I exercised at the gym at least three times a week. The problem was that I lacked the endurance to run for long periods of time. 

The canine stopped running and turned around to face me. He took a quick look around before nodding his head. 

“Sure,” he said. “We can take a break. Besides, we’re almost there anyways, so we can walk the rest of the way.”

“Thank God,” I said, holding my hands over my head to help relieve a cramp in my side. “So...uh...what _are_ you exactly?”

“I’m something called a ‘Pokemorph’, a cross between a human and an ancient creature known as a Pokémon,” Logan explained as he started walking. “They were creatures who used to roam the Earth thousands of years ago. There were hundreds, if not thousands of different species, each with their own unique abilities to channel the elements for battle. I’m based off of the Dusk variant of a wolf-like Pokémon named ‘Lycanroc’.”

“Were you born like this?”

Logan shook his head. “No, I was born human. I transformed into a Pokemorph when I was about 12 years old.” He chuckles before saying “God, I can’t believe that was 4 years ago…”

As he said this, I found myself looking down at my hands and arms. The grayish-black fur had now completely covered both of my hands, and it was now up to my elbows. My hands were now a slightly different shape, with my palms being a little wider and shorter than normal. My thumbs, pointer, middle, and ring fingers were all slightly thicker, each one having a pointed tip. My pinkies, on the other hand, were much smaller, and they looked like they were going to disappear entirely. On my palms and fingertips, black pads like those on a paw had grown in. It didn’t take me long to figure out what was happening. 

“What am I becoming?” I asked.

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Logan responded. “Like I said earlier, there were hundreds, if not thousands of species of Pokémon. However, each Pokémon tends to have something that makes them easily identifiable. It might take a little while, but we should eventually know what species you’re becoming.”

“Okay…” I remained quiet for a few seconds before asking “Why is this happening to me?”

“It’s...kind of a long story…” the Lycanroc morph responded. “I can’t promise that I’ll be able to tell it perfectly, but it should answer some of your questions.”

“During the Bronze Age, Pokémon made first contact with the Egyptian empire,” Logan began. “The Egyptians were amazed by the Pokémon’s incredible powers, and after hearing what the Pokémon had to say, they decided to work together to expand their empire and create a mighty civilization. Eventually, Pokémon began to contact other civilizations and impacting their cultures, ultimately forging a relationship that would last for over 700 years. However, during the final years of the Bronze Age, fights began to break out between the two groups. No one is exactly sure what started them, but they eventually led to a bloody war that lasted over 7 years.”

“Eventually, the Pokemon had had enough of the humans, marking their relationship to an end. They considered their connection with the humans unrepairable and decided to leave Earth once and for all. In order to do so, they needed to obtain the 7 gems of the 7 continents of the world and perform a ritual in a sacred temple. With help from Mew, a Legendary Pokemon who created all Pokémon, they built a portal to an alternate dimension free of humans. However, some Pokémon still felt pity for the humans, as many empires started to collapse eventually and their existence had been almost completely erased, the only proof of them ever being present being told in fairy tales, myths and legends. Mew decided to strike a deal with the Pokémon: those who felt the need to watch over the humans could stay, but perhaps would never reach the other dimension. Both sides agreed to the deal, and things were peaceful until the 1400s, when a group of Pokemon were on Earth confronted Mew, demanding that another portal would be built. Reluctantly, Mew reconstructed the portal, but when it was activated, the portal backfired, sending a massive shockwave that circled the globe. The shockwave from the portal triggered a dormant gene in some humans, causing them to transform into half human-half Pokemon hybrids. After this, a fight broke out between the Pokemon. While some believed that it was their duty to protect these new humans-turned-Pokemon and try to live in harmony with the humans like they did in the ancient times, others believed that if they couldn’t get to the world of Pokemon, then they would wipe out humans and create a new world of only Pokemon. These two sides became what we know today as the Guard and the Order.”

As Logan finished his tale, the two of us had walked into a large circular clearing in the middle of the woods. In the middle of the clearing was the remains of what looked to be a campfire, with a group of five tents pitched around it. However, I was too distracted by Logan’s story to focus on my surroundings. Was all of that really true? Were there really creatures that have been hiding from humans since the fall of the Egyptian Empire? It all sounded so crazy! And yet...I found myself able to believe every single word. After what had happened earlier, I felt like I was ready to accept anything. 

”That’s...a lot to take in,” I said slowly. “Which faction are you a part of?”

“Oh...I’m not part of either faction,” Logan said.

“But I thought that all Pokémorphs were part of one of the two factions in your story,” I said. “If you’re not part of either faction, then-“

“GOD DAMN IT LOGAN!”

I jumped in fright at someone shouting suddenly. I began to frantically look around the area until I finally laid my eyes on the source of the voice. Marching towards us was the red and white canine creature from earlier. He had a look of anger plastered on his face, and his glowing reddish-pink eye didn’t make me feel any less intimidated. The canine didn’t seem to be focused on me, however, as he seemed to be paying more attention to Logan. 

“Where the fuck are the parts?!” the red and white canine shouted. “We had a plan! All three of us were supposed to go in and come back with our arms full of tech from that truck! Jeralt and I got ours, and we assumed that you stayed back in order to get some more, but we were apparently wrong! Now we’re going to get paid less!”

“Oh shut the hell up Red!” Logan snapped back. “The job description said that we wouldn’t get paid bonus if we brought more parts. Besides, there was something more important I had to do.”

The red and white canine, who’s name was apparently Red, shifted his gaze from Logan to me. As he laid eyes on me, I felt myself shrink back in a mixture of fright and intimidation.

“And who the hell are you?!” Red shouted, jabbing a clawed finger into my chest. 

“Uh...I-I...”

“Knock it off Red!” a female voice shouted from behind the canine. Looking behind him, I could see a bipedal, feline-like Pokémorph covered in lilac-colored fur. She had large ears and eyes with purple pupils that were glaring daggers at Red. Tufts of fur came out from her cheeks, and what appeared to be a small, red gemstone was embedded in her forehead. Behind her was a thin, forked tail that flicked around occasionally. The feline creature had a mess of purple hair on her head. She wore a pair of black fingerless gloves, a pair of grey jeans with various tears in them, and a plaid black jacket that was unbuttoned to show off the white t-shirt with a skull design she was wearing underneath. 

“What the hell is the matter with you?!” she snapped. “Can’t you see that the kid is transforming?! He’s probably got a lot going through his mind right now, and the last thing he needs is for an alcoholic asshat like you to be shouting at him!”

Red growled at the feline before reaching into his cloak and pulling out a metal flask. He quickly unscrewed the top and took a swig of its contents before screwing the top back on and tucking it back in his cloak and marching off. As he marched off, the feline creature directed her attention to Logan and I. 

“God, your brother can be such a dick sometimes Logan,” she said, shaking her head. “So, what the hell did you do to piss him off this time?” 

“I didn’t bring any salvage back with me,” Logan explained. “I was kind of preoccupied with making sure an innocent bystander wasn’t killed.”

The feline turned to face me, a grin now on her face. “I assume that’s you he’s talking about then?” she asked. 

“Y-Yeah…” I responded, still a little frightened. “Logan...he saved my life…” 

The feline nodded in approval before turning to Logan. “Nice work kid,” she said. 

Logan broke eye contact, looking away from her as he scratched the back of his head. “Oh, it was nothing,” he said sheepishly before looking at me. “Tad, this is Athena. She’s an Espeon morph.” 

“Nice to meet you, Athena,” I said, giving her a polite smile.  
“You too Tad,” she responded. Athena then turned her attention back to Logan. 

“Jerald is in his tent if you want to talk to him,” she said. “Aaron should be coming back from scouting any minute now.” 

As I was about to ask who those two were, a slight gust of wind blew from behind me. I quickly turned around to see an anthropomorphic bird creature standing a few feet away from us. The front of its body was covered in dark blue feathers, while the back was covered in dark red feathers. It’s tail feathers were red, with a stripe of yellow near the ends and blue tips. Its legs were long and thick with yellow feet that both had a digit facing backward and three digits facing forward, each one having a sharp, black talon. It had a long, thick beak with a blue cere, and its avian eyes were black with small, white pupils. Just above the eyes were three large, white feathers. At the base of the feathers was a red, three-pointed design that spread across all three feathers. On each side of the avian creature’s face, sprouting out from behind the feathers on its forehead, were an additional three white feathers pointing horizontally and downward. Behind the three feathers on its head was a large plume of white feathers, extending most of the way down its neck. Interestingly, its wings appeared like they also functioned as hands, as the creature had a sniper rifle strapped to its back. The avian creature walked towards the three of us with a smug look on his face.

“Like I said Athena,” he said in an arrogant tone, “No one bothered to come close to us. It was probably because they knew that I was on guard duty once again.” 

“Or maybe it’s because we’re in a secluded part of the woods that no one ever comes to, and I just wanted to get you away from camp for an hour or two so I could have some peace and quiet,” Athena responded, a smirk on her face. 

“I highly doubt that,” the avian scoffed before turning his attention to me. “And who exactly are you?”

“That’s actually something I would like to know as well,” a gruff voice said from behind me. Turning around, I saw the creature with the spiky shell from earlier coming out of a large tent by the fire. He began to approach us, not taking his eyes off me. When he was about a foot or two away from me, he stopped and stared me dead in the eyes. 

“What’s your name?” the creature asked.

“M-My name is Tad,” I responded, slightly intimidated by the large Pokémorph. 

“And how did you find us exactly?”

“I was at the van that you attacked earlier. Those men...they were trying to kidnap me. If you hadn’t come when you did, then I don’t know what would have happened. When you took out four of the guards, I was going to approach you and ask what you were, but the guard you didn’t get grabbed me. He…he held a gun to my head...and if Logan hadn’t stopped him…” I found myself trailing off at the end. I didn’t even want to think about what would have happened to me…

The creature turned to look at Logan. “Is this true Logan?” 

The Lycanroc morph nodded. “It’s all true Jerald,” he said. “I figured that it would be best to bring him back to camp.”

The creature, who was apparently named Jerald, closed his eyes and nodded. “A wise course of action. We can’t risk being discovered.” He opened his eyes and looked at Logan. “Nice work Logan. You’re becoming a fine mercenary.”

Wait… _mercenary?_

“You guys are mercenaries?” I asked, looking at the group of Pokémorphs. None of them said a word at first, until Logan looked to Jerald, who gave a quick nod. I assumed that Logan was looking to him for permission to speak.

“Right,” Logan said. “Our group is called ‘The Blades of Zacian’, named after the Legendary Pokémon of the same name. We make a living by doing jobs for the Guard and the Order. Our leader is Jeralt. He’s a Chesnaught morph. The only other person you haven’t officially met is Aaron, the Braviary morph.”

“So were you on a job when you found me?” I asked. 

“We were, actually. The Order sent us to steal some tech from the Guard, and we just happened to arrive as-“

The bird Pokémorph quickly interrupts. “Enough explanation,” he said. He turned to Jerald and asked, “What are we doing with this kid?”

“Simple,” the Chesnaught morph said. “We’ll hand him over to the Guard. They have the nearest-“

“No!” 

When the four Pokémorphs looked at me, I realized that I had said that out loud. 

“Excuse me?” the Chesnaught morph asked with a stern tone. 

“I...I’m not going with the Guard…” I said, still a bit intimidated by the large Chesnaught. “When they tried to take me, they threatened to use force on me. One of them even tried to shoot me because I wasn’t cooperating exactly how he wanted me to!” 

“And what exactly do you propose we do instead, huh kid?” Aaron scoffed. 

“Well...maybe I could...join your group?”

Jerald’s eyes narrowed. “Absolutely not,” he said sternly. “I am not going to babysit someone who is still transforming.”

“B-But-“ I began, but the Chesnaught cut me off.

“End of story, kid. If you’re lucky, you’ll survive your first mission.” 

Jerald turned around and began to walk back to his tent. I looked to Athena to see if she could help, but she merely shook her head, a sad expression on her face.

“Sorry Tad,” she said. “Hope the Guard or the Order treats you well.” With that, she walked off in the opposite direction. As she did, I heard Aaron chuckle to himself. 

“Stupid kid,” he said. “You’re going to get eaten alive out there. If you had my talents, then maybe, **maybe** , you’d stand a chance.” The avian then walked past me towards the tents with a smug ass grin on his face. That just left me and Logan. 

I began to feel incredibly worried. What was going to happen to me? Was I really going to become a soldier for either the Guard or the Order? From the way those members of the Guard tried to take me, I doubted that they would treat me very well. What if the Order wasn’t any different? 

“Captain Jerald! Wait!” a voice shouted, bringing me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I turned my head to see Logan running towards the Chesnaught morph. 

“Sir! You should really reconsider!” he shouted. 

Jerald stopped, turning around to face the Dusk Lycanroc morph. He had a look of doubt on his face, appearing as if he was raising one of his eyebrows. “And why would I do that?” he asked. 

Logan didn’t say anything at first. Instead, he looked over his shoulder towards me. Our eyes met, and in that brief moment, I felt that everything was going to be okay. The canine then turned his attention back to Jerald. 

“I’ve just got this feeling that Tad could become a valuable asset to the team,” Logan explained. “With the proper training, he could become one of our best fighters, and depending on what species he’s becoming, the team could have a new type advantage against our rivals.”

Jerald silently stared at Logan for a few seconds before shifting his gaze to me. After a minute, he let out a heavy sigh. 

“You’ve twisted my arm for the last time, Logan,” he said, shaking his head in frustration. “The boy may join the team-“

“Thank you sir!” Logan responded, cutting him off. “I promise you won’t regret this!” As he began to turn around though, Jerald grabbed his shoulder and turned the canine back towards him.

“You need to let me finish,” he said. “The boy may join the team _on one condition_ : you are to be the one who primarily trains him. While the rest of us will help occasionally, it will mostly be your job to make sure that he will survive a fight. If the boy dies, his blood is on your hands, not mine. Do you understand?”

Logan hesitated for a second before nodding in agreement. “Yes sir,” he said. “I understand completely.”

“Good,” the Chesnaught morph responded. He then proceeded to turn around again and resume walking to his tent. As he did so, I approached Logan and stopped when I was standing next to him.

“You convinced him…” I said quietly, still slightly in shock. 

Logan nodded. “It wasn’t too hard,” he responded. “I just told him that I had a good feeling about you and that it would be a strategic advantage to have you on board.”

“And is that true?” I asked. 

“Well, we won’t know about the strategic advantage until we know what species you’re becoming,” Logan responded. “But I’ve definitely got a good feeling about you.”

I couldn’t help but smile at Logan’s compliment. After everything that happened today, it was nice to hear a little encouragement.

“Thanks Logan,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”

**Author's Note:**

> If the title of the series sounds familiar to the universe that my other story is a part of (Pokeumans), there is a good reason for that.  
> You see, the Pokeumans Universe has essentially died due to inactivity from its members. While it was depressing to watch a group I had been a part of for nearly five years finally meet its end, I decided to keep my head held high and prepared for whatever came next. Luckily for me, it seemed a few of the friends I had made in Pokeumans had decided the same thing, and they invited me to be a part of a new universe of stories they're creating called "Pokemorphs". The premise is similar to Pokeumans, but there are some key differences that I will not be going into here.  
> If you enjoyed this first chapter, please feel free to give kudos so I know that you enjoyed it. And if you don't feel like leaving kudos, spread the word to people you think would enjoy this kind of story. It would really mean a lot to me either way.


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